Wevr Shares Plans to Make Movie-Length VR Film

Wevr becomes one of the first virtual reality studios to attempt a feature-length VR film, even though it’s a known fact in the industry that almost all VR experiences run for not more than 20 minutes. But the VR community is all set to try to make a feature-length VR content.

Wevr to Make Feature-Length VR Film

Scroll down for the video

The VR film, which will be called Memory Slave, will be a joint project by VR-focused company Wevr and independent film crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark. We all know what VR headsets can do, using this technology makes us feel like we’re witnessing events firsthand, like we’re right in the middle as the action unfolds. Memory Slave will be the first-ever feature-length content especially shot for VR headsets.

Memory Slave will center around virtual reality too. The VR film follows an amateur entrepreneur who’s hoping to sell her VR startup to big companies for billions. What she did not expect was to see her startup be used as an entertainment and marketing tool that is manipulative and addictive. One of the producers of the project and also the CEO and founder of Seed&Spark, Emily Best, shared, “The whole intention is to ask a lot of questions about the medium.”

Virtual reality has been one of the most talked-about topics this year. It uses responsive headsets to replicate an environment for anyone that wears it. Although big and respected companies like Facebook, Google, and Samsung are committing money into the development of VR headsets and also making them available worldwide, the content remains limited. In particular, the feature-length stories are still a new thing and have not been tried by users ever.

A crowdfunded movie titled Man Slaughter, which is centered around the Mafia and was made by a first-time filmmaker and a whodunit and released by production company Cinemersia is another example of a feature-length VR content that is set to be released for the enjoyment of VR users. Another is the 100-minute VR thriller made by Wevr, which has over ten sequential episodes. Other examples include the joint project by Wevr and Seed&Spark titled Hard World for Small Things by filmmaker Janicza Bravo. Last example is a film directed James Kaelan and Blessing Yen titled The Visitors, it’s worth noting that the film’s directors are also the screenwriters and filmmakers behind Memory Slave.

The Wevr’s Transport app, which happens to serve as a VR content network, will be used as a mode of distributing the film exclusively. Technical expertise, production hardware, and some financing is coming from Wevr, while the co-founder, Anthony Batt, described the participation of his company as “a warm embrace to (the filmmakers’) creative idea.” Through Seed&Spark, part of the project will be crowdfunded. As said by Seed&Spark CEO Emily Best, the campaign to finance Memory Slave, will probably go live in fall.

In another statement made by Best, she noted, “Last year, everyone was saying VR cost about a million dollars a minute to produce, we think that’s insane. We’re not interested in another cost-prohibitive exclusive creators’ club.” She also made it known that the production budget for their previous seven-minute VR short titled “The Visitor” cost them $7,200. Seed&Spark however stated in their statement as part of Friday’s announcement that they would open their film-only crowdfunding platform to allow VR projects. Wevr also stated that it will be opening up its transport distribution app to convert project funded by Seed&Spark. And to promote those creators, the company wants to invest in a marketing fund.

There are several uncertainties being faced by feature-length films just like some other elements of VR. These can be narrowed down to some viewers experiencing nauseousness or dizziness as a result of wearing the headset for a long period. And those who prefer to use mobile devices like the Samsung Gear VR might also experience overheating or running out of juice of their smartphones.

Featured Video

About

VR Life aims to build this news portal into one of the web's most intuitive and user-friendly experiences when looking for information on all things VR related.

At VR Life, we explore the cutting-edge of virtual reality, augmented reality, and human-computer interaction. We hope to provide you with content rich news and reviews on latest gadgets, innovation, and creativity.